A Week of Getting Back to Normal - W/E 17th May 2025

It's been a week of getting back to normal here after our visit to Yorkshire last week. I slept really well on Saturday night, as a result of being back in my own bed, which was just as well as I was working on Sunday from 12 til 6pm.  Work was busy and I found out that our Store Manager is moving on to another store imminently. Our store is also currently recruiting for more staff, so there will be new faces will starting soon.

On Monday, it was weekly shop day as usual. I went a bit further afield than normal today, in order to visit an IKEA store. I wanted to buy one of their large bathmats, which are bigger than any I can find in other stores.  They are more expensive though. I bought just one, but there wasn't really a good choice of colours, just two, so I went for a dark green one.

I then did the grocery shop, including buying a few consumables for OH's birthday next week. I dropped into my regular charity shop on the way home, but didn't find anything I liked, which is unusual.

On Tuesday, I went to my usual class at the gym. It was a bit different as someone was covering for the teacher who was away. I found the class enjoyable enough, but we didn't really use the weights much. Sometimes it's good to have a change of teacher to mix things up a bit.

Later, after lunch, I got ready and went to my sewing class. This week felt much more productive as I spent the whole class working on my dungaree dress and made quite a bit of progress using the double needle. It was interesting to use it.

On Wednesday, I was at college from 9am till 2.30pm. It was quite intense, as we were learning a lot of detailed theory, which we need for an exam in a few weeks time. The exam is multiple choice, but it will still require quite a lot of study. We also did a bit of practical work towards the end of the day, which was interesting.

I had to rush home and get ready for work after college. Work was busy and actually fairly enjoyable as it passed very quickly. I'm now not working again until Sunday.

It was lovely to have a day off on Thursday. The morning was spent with OH visiting a building supply company in Hertfordshire trying to find some bricks to match the ones he'd used on the patio. We did find some that matched quite well and the supplier was happy to divide a pallet so we could buy just what we needed which was good. We also dropped into an Aldi for a few bits and OH bought me a couple of Salvias for the new border, which still has a few gaps. They were great value at £2.99 each for a good sized pot.

By the time we'd got home and I'd had lunch, I was feeling very tired and decided to head to bed for a nap. I needed it after a very busy few days. I had to wait until next door's builders finished working though as they are quite noisy and chat loudly.

On Friday, I started the day with a 3km run. Our local 5km run is on Saturday, but I decided not to enter this year, as I don't really enjoy running in events and prefer a 3km distance, as opposed to 5km. On my cool down, I came across a table full of stuff that someone was giving away for free, so picked up a few terracotta pots and saucers which I'm sure I can make use of. I collected a prescription from the pharmacy on the way back from my run, which increased my steps a little, which is all good, I also picked up this cute cast iron planter outside another house. It is pretty heavy, but I like it's aged patina. I later filled it with some nasturtium seedlings, once I'd brushed it out.

The bricks that we'd ordered on Thursday were delivered today, so I carried some of them through the house to the back garden before lunch, which gave me a bit of extra exercise.

In the afternoon, I headed to our local mall, to visit the bank to deposit a cheque. It's not so easy to find a bank where you can deposit these days and this was the closest one to where I live. Whilst at the mall, I decided to take a look in Primark and then ended up buying a few things that caught my eye. I am a bit short of clothes that fit well at the moment, after putting a bit of weight back on. I just feel like I need a few more choices. I've always got some excuse haven't I? I will include them in my monthly clothing purchase blog post.

When I got back from the mall, OH had moved the rest of the bricks into the garden. We then went out on our bikes to run an errand and dropped into the allotment on the way back to water it. Everything is growing really well, which is good news.

Saturday began with a free gym session, as these had recommenced last week whilst we were away. It did feel good to get back in the gym. 

When I got home, I pottered in the garden for a bit, as it was a lovely sunny day. I cleaned a few bird feeders and did a bit of deadheading here and there. OH resumed work on the patio mixing in the new bricks and continuing down the garden.

After lunch, I headed up to the sewing room to do a bit of work on my dungaree dress before returning to class on Tuesday. I did a bit of machine sewing and then took some unpicking and basteing down to the garden and sat on the bench doing it in the sunshine as OH worked. It made a nice change to actually sit in our garden for once.

Later, I made supper and then resumed sewing on my machine, making the straps for my dungaree dress. These were a little tricky, as I had to make them the correct width for the fixings and made them from left over bits of the fabric, which I had to piece together carefully, but I did it and added the fixings ready for them to be sewn onto the dress in class. I also basted the sides and tried the dress on and it seemed to fit well which was good. I can't wait to get it finished so that I can wear it. I should be able to just about finish it in class next week, save for hemming it, which I can do at home, and attaching the buttons. I will then be able to start work proper on the floral dress that I originally intended to make at class.

By the time I'd finished, OH had finished work for the day on the brick patio. Here's a picture:

There is still a bit of work to do on the sides and step and it needs fine sand putting inbetween the bricks, but this will be a job for another day. We were both happy with how the new bricks blended in and this was OH's first attempt at building a brick patio, so I think he did really well. It would have cost a lot more to pay someone to do it for us.

As a consequence of the above, Saturday felt like a productive end to another busy week. I'm hoping that next week will be a little less busy and I'll get chance to do some studying.